


Liars Never Win (but that doesn't mean they lose)

by orphan_account



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, F/M, How Do I Tag, Hurt Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Lila Rossi Lies, Lila Rossi Redemption, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Needs a Hug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Switches Sides, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Thanks Astruc, but not really, it's complicated - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:35:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23741653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: It's been almost two years since Lila cornered Marinette that fateful day in the bathroom. Since Adrien told her to take the high road, that he was on her side, and then stood by and did nothing. Two years of watching her friends pull away from her.She's sick of it.And while Paris's superheroes are better than ever, she's at an all-time low.--------Lila comes across a kwami that didn't have a miraculous, a freak of nature, an... accident. Too powerful for anyone's good, it can slowly change a person's allegiance. She knows she can use this to finally sway the class against Marinette- but why should she? Marinette's clever, talented, and likable. Wouldn't it be a better use to rule the school with Marinette by her side?And as Marinette gets to know the real Lila, Marinette just might bring her good side out.~~~~~ON HIATUS
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Lila Rossi, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Ivan Bruel/Mylène Haprèle, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Lila Rossi
Comments: 29
Kudos: 96





	1. Meeting Malkki (Lila)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, this is my first fanfic so please don't bash. Frankly, I suck at writing fan fiction. I just randomly thought of this one night- "hey, it's 3 am and I'm sleep deprived, so why not start a random draft about how Marinette joins Lila through some magic mind manipulation because no one ever writes about if Marinette joined Lila instead of the other way around~"  
> So yeah. I hope you like it!

Lila Rossi sighed, dragging her feet as she got ready in the morning. Still half asleep as she changed, her mom _finally_ brought some coffee up. 

"Thanks, mom!"

She smiled cheerfully. Internally, she cursed her mom for taking this long to finally get up here, although the coffee was great~ her family always buying the best quality coffee was one thing she didn't lie about.

Speaking of lying, she internally snorted, she was probably going to an exotic vacation in Hawaii this weekend. She could hear her classmates _oohing_ and _ahhing_ already; she was sure Rose would probably gush about the states. Sheep, the lot of them. Sheep without brains.

Except for Adrien and Marinette, of course. Adrien she wasn't worried about; he was the sheep among all sheep. Marinette wasn't so much of a problem anymore either, but it would be nice to get rid of her permanently. No killing, of course, but maybe she could transfer schools; that would be good. Of course, she was a loss; Lila knew she'd rule anywhere she went if Marinette was on her side. 

Not entirely paying attention, she stubbed her toe on something that _definitely_ hadn't been there yesterday. She knew because she always walked the same way in the morning. Scowling, she reached down, internally cursing Maribrat; if she hadn't been on her thoughts, Lila wouldn't have stubbed her toe.

Lila was about to yell down at her mom about leaving something on the floor when she got a closer look at the item. It was a black hexagonal wooden box that could fit in the palm of her hand. It had a Greek symbol on it emblazoned in red. Her curiosity getting the best of her, she opened the box...  
only to be greeted by a flashing ball of light.

Startled, she flinched, and then internally sighed. She was _Lila Rossi_. She didn't flinch!

The ball of light had materialized into a little figure, almost 10 centimeters tall, looking almost like a porcelain doll. She peered at it curiously, and started when it moved. 

**I'm Malkki. Who are you?**

She knew that this was the... doll-creature talking, albeit _inside her head_! "What... are you?" she asked, not showing any of her nervousness.

**I'm an mawkiay. The last of my kind.**

"What's a... _mawkiay_?"

 **We are loosely based off the kwamis that give miraculous holders their powers. Unfortunately, my miraculous was destroyed along with the box my kind left** **their miraculous in, and they were destroyed as well. I survived through... unfortunate incidents.**

Lila was pretty sure she wasn't imagining the tinge of sadness behind the last two sentences. "I'm sorry," she said, though she didn't honestly mean it. It had been a long time since she felt anything relating to pity, sadness, or even happiness; she restricted herself to satisfaction, anger, and mild annoyance.

The mawkiay snorted. **Don't lie to me, Lila Rossi. I know exactly who you are and what you’re like. It's part of my power.**

Shrugging, she gave up the game. "Okay. So what exactly is your power and why are you here?"

 **Mawkiays were created after Greek mythology, a bit like the miraculous you are familiar with were created for animals. My character was a siren. My power is to sense people's characters, allegiances, and backgrounds and to change allegiances and influence emotions.** **I don't know why I'm here either; I woke up when you opened the box.**

Lila's mind was racing with the possibilities. She could turn the class against Dupain-Cheng for once and for all! She could get Adrien for herself and become an even bigger name in modelling! She could even get Hawkmoth to avenge her if she wanted.

 **Hold on. Two things: one, my** **power does have limits. Otherwise it wouldn't be possible for me to exist. And two, I'm pretty sure you're going to be late if you stay here much longer.**

Lila checked the clock. Malkki was right. She'd better leave.

"You're coming with me," she said. "You said your miraculous was broken?"

**Destroyed. But I can fit in your pocket or your schoolbag.**

"Wait. You’re not even going to argue against coming with me?"

**Well, knowing you, I don't have a choice either way. And I think I can help you in a more creative way than you’re currently envisioning.**

"Okay. Is there a way for me to talk to you without sounding like a psycho or...?"

**I can understand you if you think to me. It's hard to grasp the concept at first, but you'll get used to it.**

Like this?

**Kind of.**

Okay.

Heading downstairs, she nodded goodbye to her mom, who was on the phone. _Of course_. But who cared? Lila swiped one of her mom's many credit cards as she went; might as well buy some stuff (and for Malkki, who couldn't stay in her bag forever).

When she got to school, Alya, her "bestie" and top sheep, was making her way in too. She made her way over and slung an arm around her shoulder. "Hey, second-best friend! What's up?"

Alya looked up cheerfully. "Hey, Lila. Look at the akuma attack from last night! It's already got two thousand likes!"

"Oh, I couldn't believe that one. I mean, it looked so difficult! I'm glad Ladybug was able to fight if off."

"Of course she did! But..."

**I'm changing some of her allegiance and awe from Ladybug to you.**

Thanks. That's useful. But don't make her hate Ladybug... can you make it so her feelings are reversed?

**Not right now, it takes time. But give it a week and sure.**

"Guess what?" Lila asked her, dropping her voice to a whisper. "Ladybug visited me last night!"

"Of course she did. You’re awesome! Why wouldn't she visit you?"

"And she told me she was considering giving me a miraculous next time she had a hard akuma."

"That's awesome! I bet you'd be an even better superhero! I mean, your every day outfits are already better than her suit."

"Aw, thanks, my number two bestie."

When Ms. Bustier got in, the class (except Lila) was taking notes. She knew she'd get notes from Alya later. Instead, she devoted the time to something more important: learning the full extent of power Malkki had.

**I can't change a person at their core, so their personality will remain similar. I can change who a person is loyal to, who they like and dislike. I can subtly influence how someone feels, but I can't make an emotion pop out of nowhere. If someone feels a bit nervous when a bug comes, I can make them freak out. But if they're really happy, I can't pull fear or anger out of nothing. And changing loyalty and feelings takes a bit of time.**

Could you get the class to turn completely against Dupain-Cheng?

**I can do something better. Haven't you considered ruling with her by your side?**

You can do that?

**Sure. But she'll stay clever and basically how she is now, except she'll be loyal to you.**

That's fine. She can be my partner, as long as you’re sure she doesn't betray me.

**She won't.**


	2. Weird Feelings (Marinette)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's feeling some randomly weird stuff lately... like pity and guilt for Lila. These new feelings along with the continual bullying are pushing her to her breaking point...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo I'm not dead. Here's the next chapter.  
> Also, is everyone on here in like college or an adult? Now I feel self conscious. I'm definitely gonna be updating sporadically because I live in a house where my mom expects me to do schoolwork not write fanfics and I'm drowning in it~

Marinette was in her room, trying to sketch a new design (and failing). She was off. Actually, Marinette had been feeling a little off for the past week or so. She was feeling things, and occasionally having thoughts, that didn't make sense.

_I should talk to someone I trust_ , she thought. _Maybe Alya._

She didn't realize the oddity of the thought until a few moments later. After all, Alya had abandoned her, falling for Lila's lies. Of course, Lila probably had a good reason for the lies~ she felt sorry for her.

_Wait, what?_ Marinette definitely did _not_ feel sorry for Lie-la.

Then she felt guilty for using that name. She never stooped to that level.

"Are you okay, Marinette?" Tikki asked, concerned. Marinette shook her head a little to clear her thoughts, and then, realizing it looked like a denial to Tikki, smiled brightly.

"Of course!"

She knew Tikki wasn't buying it. Her friends had all turned against her, and even _Marinette herself_ could see through the too-bright grins and unconvincing lies~ especially when there were bags under her eyes and her skin was an unhealthy pallor.

Tikki let it pass this time. “Marinette, it’s about time for patrol.”

"Why?” she asked. "It's Chat's day."

"But that doesn't mean he's out there, Marinette. Didn't you say he was a little off lately?"

Marinette sighed. Yes, Chat Noir had been a little more withdrawn the past few days; not like his usual flirty self. Not that Marinette didn't like it, but she was a bit worried, especially if something was happening in his home life, which she knew wasn't the best.

"Yeah, I guess. Tikki, spots on!"

* * *

Marinette stumbled into class the next day, bleary eyed. After a rather uneventful patrol, she had stayed up till four finishing up a design for a client. With Tikki (and Google)’s help, she had created a website a few weeks ago for her designs, and they were actually selling. 

Of course, Lila chose to comment on her appearance. “Are you feeling... tired, Marinette?” she asked in a saccharine tone. “I can get you some coffee or something if you want,” she offered, every inch of her voice dripping with faux sympathy. 

“Leave me alone, Lila,” Marinette mumbled. But with her face on the desk and her half asleep demeanor, it sounded more like _Leb meh loon, lile._

“What did you say? Sorry, Marinette, my hearing must be acting up again.”

Alya rolled her eyes. “Lila, girl, she just mumbled against the desk. Don’t worry, it’s not your fault.” She glared at Marinette for apparently making Lila think it was. 

Dragging her head off the desk, Marinette glared at Lila. She mumbled less this time, enunciating clearly, “Leave me alone, Lila.”

A crocodile tear slid down her cheek. “I understand, Marinette. You don’t want me as your friend."

Alya glared at Marinette and moved to comfort Lila. "Hey, bestie, don't worry. Marinette's just a jerk."

But Lila's tears had sparked something strange in Marinette: A feeling of guilt. Why? She shouldn't feel bad for Lila~ she knew the tears were fake! But she felt bad anyway.

She moved to take notes, but, distracted, she only managed to take a few before giving up. She didn't worry; she could probably borrow some notes from Lila.

_Wait, what?_

Lost in thought for the rest of the class, she almost didn't realize when Mme Bustier had dismissed for lunch. When she did, she hurried up and~

_Oof!_

She tripped over someone's foot. When she painfully got up, Alya was smirking and Lila's hardcore group of supporters: Rose (and by default, Juleka), Mylene, Alix, and~ well not Adrien, he was kind of standing to the side, were closing in around her.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng," Alya hissed. "You made Lila cry."

"No new news there," Marinette replied flippantly. "It's a shame you can't see past her crocodile tears."

"You jerk! Why can't you just get along with her? She wants to be your friend." Here her voice softened a tiny bit. "You used to be so nice! Why can't you get past your jealousy and see that Lila's an awesome person?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Me? Jealous? I have nothing to be jealous of and everything to lose by being friends with Lila."

Alya raised an eyebrow. "Like? We won't be friends with a jealous, lying person." Marinette flinched. Alya continued, "And your crush is crushing on Lila, haven't you noticed? What else can you lose? Your non-existent honor? You lost that the first time you called Lila a liar, _liar_."

Alya turned on her heel and left with the last word. Their classmates followed, but not before glaring at Marinette. Alix leaned over and whispered, "I can't believe we used to be friends with you."

Those words buried a metaphorical dagger in her heart. What had started as a little bit of sadness but more resignation seemed to flip a switch.

The first tear slid down her face and the waterworks started. She curled into a ball, sobbing. "Why can't they see it, Tikki?" she gasped through her heaving sobs. "I can't stand this anymore."

Tikki flew out of her purse and hugged her cheek. Gradually, her sobbing subsided, but the feeling of grief was still weighing her chest. She trudged heavily out to have lunch. If anyone noticed her puffy eyes and tear streaked face, no one said anything, although she spotted Lila grinning smugly.

She almost felt bad for Lila. She couldn't fathom what kind of parents would raise their child like this.

Or maybe Lila was like this _because_ she had no parental figure in her life.

But that didn't reveal why in the world she felt _bad_ for Lila. In fact, she realized, she still felt guilty.

Odd...

* * *

A few days later, Marinette knocked on Master Fu's door.

"Come in," he called.

As she made her way in, he noticed who she was. "Ah, Ladybug. Close the door, please," he told her, and as she did, Wayzz flew out of hiding. 

"Hi, Marinette!" he greeted. "Tikki!"

"Hey, Wayzz," she said politely. "Would you mind..?" She gestured towards Master Fu, indicating she wanted to talk alone. Wayzz nodded in understanding.

"Of course. Come on, Tikki! I'm sure we have quite a bit to talk about. We have a new batch of tea brewing; would you like some?"

As they phased through the wall into the other room, their voices were no longer audible. Master Fu smiled patiently. 

"As Wayzz mentioned, we have tea. Would you like some?"

She smiled and shook her head. "No thank you, master. I came to talk about something odd."

Master Fu raised his eyebrows. "Odd?"

"Odd that's happening to me, I mean," she clarified. Master Fu nodded in understanding. 

"I see," he said. "Tell me about it."

She recounted how she'd been feeling strange things, and even thinking them occasionally, that she definitely didn't feel before. Master Fu began to look troubled.

"The only thing... no, no, are you sure you aren't just having a change of heart? My understanding is that you've been having a hard time in school. Might you not have started to think these as a coping mechanism to protect yourself?"

"I don't think so, master. If it was a coping mechanism, I wouldn't be sympathizing with who is technically the enemy in my case."

He looked more troubled at that.

"Master... is there something that could be causing this? Something unnatural, I mean."

"Yes... but they were destroyed long ago. It is not possible."

She shifted into a cross-legged position matching his. "Tell me about them."

He sighed and began. "A long time ago, there were many sets of miraculous, and many miraculous boxes. But... one day, someone in the Order created a new set. One dangerously powerful, based on Greek mythology. It was too powerful. There were miraculous that could grant temporary power over life and death. Mesmerize people. Change their emotions. They... they were so powerful, they drained the user's life force while being used.

"Because of that, one of the elder guardians decided... they were much too powerful. His own son had died using one. He ordered them to be destroyed. And they were. The Greek miraculous box was set on fire, with consent from all the guardians, which was the only way for a full box to be destroyed. 

"I believe that if they still existed, it would be the siren miraculous that is affecting you. It had the power to changed allegiances and influence emotions. But..."

"They were all destroyed," Marinette finished for him. "So it shouldn't be possible. But couldn't one of the kwamis have escaped?"

Master Fu shrugged a little. "It is possible, but very unlikely. They barricaded everything."

"But... can't kwamis phase through things?"

"Actually, only certain types. All of ours," he indicated the disguised miraculous box, "can. But in the Greek box, only a few could... but the siren was one of them," he realized. "But then again, the siren kwami could not phase through carrying things, nor is it very likely at all that it could've found someone strong enough to use its miraculous, especially long enough for you to start feeling changes."

"But... what if the kwami decided to do it itself? Without using the miraculous?"

Master Fu looked grave. "That would be bad. Very bad, indeed. I will look into it. I advise you to spend more time as Ladybug, because although in essence you two are the same person, your personality is different and you are merged with Tikki. This will help you clear your head if something like that happens, because they are working on Marinette and not Ladybug."

"Okay, master. I should get going now. My parents are waiting."

He smiled. "As I said, I will look into it. Enjoy the rest of your day."

* * *

Three weeks later, Marinette was woken up by Tikki. "Marinette, wake up! You're going to be late!"

Gasping, she sat up. She'd had a dream... she couldn't remember it anymore, but it had to do with Lila. And apologies. Maybe Lila had apologized? No, the didn't sound right.

She pulled on her usual clothes, taking a moment to brush her hair and tie them into pigtails, and then flew out the door, quickly kissing her parents on the cheek and grabbing a chocolate croissant. She got to class just as the bell rang, panting out, "Not late! Not late!"

The class burst out laughing. Cheeks flushed, she took her seat in the back of the room. 

She dozed through class, doodling on paper (she had the uncanny ability to remember what the teacher was talking about based on what she was drawing at the time). About halfway through class, she needed to use the bathroom. Mme Bustier gave her permission to go quickly. Trudging through the halls, head down, she passed her locker, which was half open. Surprised, she reached out to close it, and discovered that there was paper sitting at the bottom. A lot of paper.

"What's that?" Tikki asked, head poking out of Marinette's purse.

"I don’t know." Picking one up, she read it over. What she read made her eyes go wide and her lips tremble. Choosing another one, she looked at it. Tears welled up in her eyes.

> _You are a terrible person, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I can't believe I was ever friends with you._
> 
> _I can't believe you. Bullying an innocent girl? I thought I knew you better than that. I thought you were a good person. I guess I was wrong.  
> _
> 
> _I heard you had a crush on me. Give up. Stop confronting Lila. It's not like she's hurting anyone._

Tikki looked concernedly at her chosen, who was currently crying in a bathroom stall. She knew Marinette was hurt, but this... this was odd. Normally Marinette might've let a tear or two trickle down, and shook her head sadly, but she wouldn't have ran to the bathroom and burst out in tears. It made her think back to the subject of the Greek miraculous. If one was truly out there, nothing and no one in the world was safe.

Just then, the bathroom door opened. "Marinette?" a voice called tentatively. Tikki felt her holder suddenly tense as they both recognized that voice. _Lila..._

Marinette made a pretense of flushing the toilet before wiping hurriedly at her tear-streaked face. "What do you want, Lila?" she asked. "And don't say to be my friend. We both know that's not true."

Lila dropped the pretense. "Okay. Come out first."

Tikki knew what Lila wanted. To see Marinette crying, which would make Marinette more weak and Lila stronger. She bumped her holder's knee gently, and Marinette gave her a watery smile, motioning for her to get in the purse. Tikki obeyed. She'd be able to hear everything, anyway.

She heard Marinette open the stall door. "What do you want?" she asked again dully.

"Wow, Mari," Lila said. Tikki could hear the smirk in her voice. "You're an ugly crier."

"Don't call me that," Marinette said lifelessly. "If you've come to gloat, get on with it."

"Can't I just check on you without you attacking me?" Lila said, sounding like she'd started to cry. "I've been so-"

"We both know I'm not falling for that," Marinette interjected~ but why did she sound the tiniest bit guilty? Tikki doubted anyone else could hear it, but she knew her chosen well enough to understand the nuances in her tone, and she definitely sounded guilty. Why?

"Okay," Lila said, every trace of sadness gone from her voice. Tikki shivered at the coldness in her tone. "If that's how you want to play it. I'm here to give you one last chance. You can join me, and get your friends back. Or you can stay against me." Tikki heard Lila lean close. "And I'll make sure that _nobody_ ever likes or believes you again."

Marinette shuddered. 

Lila leaned back, tone chipper again. "So! Which one do you choose?"

Lila raised an eyebrow at Marinette. They both knew that if Marinette denied her, Lila would bring out the crocodile tears in an instant~ painting herself as the victim. And wrong as it might be, Marinette was just _so tired_. She couldn't do this anymore. She... she just couldn't be the "better person" and let Lila shove everyone against her. Her own _parents_ had believed Lila when she was framed~ at the very least, they were her _parents_! They should have stood up for her!

Marinette sighed tiredly. "Fine," she whispered in a quiet voice. "I'll join you."

**Author's Note:**

> If I made any spelling or grammar errors, feel free to let me know. I hope you liked it!  
> One note: Malkki is somewhat corrupt. I'll explain more in the backstory, but kwamis are good at heart. Mawkiays were much too powerful and became corrupted and un-pure of heart, which is why they were destroyed. Also, Malkki talking to Lila is going to be bold, and Lila talking to Malkki is not going to be in any format.


End file.
